In Danielle Kazemi’s first book, a squadron of super soldiers was created as mercenary chattel. Later, in a laboratory accident, “chemicals fused with their genetically altered bodies,” and somehow they acquired extraordinary superhuman powers. With one of these soldiers on the payroll, any country could change the course of any war at any time.

Now in Kazemi’s follow-up novel, a machine has been assembled that can isolate genes within the human body and magnify their capacity even further. This machine can take superhuman potential to the cosmic level. In other words, it can turn Captain America into the Silver Surfer.

The machine is controlled by a lunatic who everyone calls the Commander. He’s cut from the same cloth as the Red Skull and Arnim Zola, and he has made it clear that he will continue to push his evil agenda until he has the entire world under his thumb. He is also the guy, btw, who helped create the original batch of superheroes.

And that’s when things really get really complicated. A handful of these superheroes have vowed to kill the Commander and destroy his god-making machine. But an equal number have steadfastly remained loyal to their creator. For our heroes, this divide sparks an existential struggle. There’s a lot of backstabbing and romantic tension in this novel, but it’s the bigger philosophical questions that we found most interesting. No matter how fucked up the world gets, it’s not easy to stand up and confront your progenitor. Just ask Frankenstein’s monster.